Commission to Meet January 18-19

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will meet at Fish and Game headquarters, 600 South Walnut in Boise, on January 18 and 19. The meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m. each day. A public hearing will be held in the same location at 7:00 p.m. January 17. Any Fish and Game topic may be addressed at the hearing. Agenda topics for the meeting include seasons and limits for moose, mountain goats and bighorn sheep, including a clarification of the nonresident limit of ten percent of permits in each hunt. Changes to nonbiological rules for big game species will be considered, including bear baiting permit requirements. Under the proposed change, only one permit would be issued per bait site, rather than one for everyone who hunts over bait as is now required. Another change would allow nonresidents to buy more than one deer or elk tag when there is a surplus. In 2000, residents were allowed to buy the leftover tags after September 1, but no provision was made to allow sale to nonresidents. Leftover tags are sold at nonresident prices. The Commission will consider a request to approve grazing on lands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. The grazing, proposed by the Farm Services Administration would take place for three years to relieve ranchers who have been forced from public lands due to closures. CRP land is valuable habitat, especially for sharptail grouse in eastern Idaho. The Commission will also hear a report on the status of big game herds this winter, and the possibility of feeding.